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Panoramic view on the North Campus © Jürgen Huhn​/​TU Dortmund
Inaugural Lecture

TU Dortmund University Welcomes Professor Aladin El-Mafaalani

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The picture shows a portrait photo of Prof. El-Mafaalani at his inaugural lecture at TU Dortmund University. The lecture hall with the audience can be seen in the background. © Martina Hengesbach​/​TU Dortmund University
Aladin El-Mafaalani, Professor of Sociology of Migration and Education at TU Dortmund University since April 2024, gave his inaugural lecture in a packed lecture hall.
Professor Aladin El-Mafaalani joined TU Dortmund University on 1 April as Professor for Sociology of Migration and Education. The sociologist has recently held his inaugural lecture, in which he gave an overview of the questions and topics he wants to explore from now on at the Department of Social Sciences.

A large crowd assembled in Lecture Hall 2 at Emil-Figge-Strasse 50 in the late afternoon on 8 May: Lots of students, staff and guests wanted to share the moment when Professor Aladin El-Mafaalani held his inaugural lecture. After a warm welcome from Professor Nicole Burzan, Dean of the Department of Social Sciences, El-Mafaalani presented his current and future research projects to the audience under the title “Superdiverse Childhoods in an Aging Society” and outlined his main research interests, i.e. education, integration and racism.

“Superdiversity” is playing an increasingly important role

All three are very important in Germany, especially among the youngest age groups: “Inequalities are created at a very early stage, which makes childhood interesting when viewed from the perspective of social inequality,” he explained. Migration also plays an important role, he added, particularly among younger people. In Germany, migration is in a state of flux, and this process is described as “superdiversity”: Diverse societies become more complex when more and more people from more and more countries of origin immigrate, with each group in itself also becoming more diverse. “In comparison to younger age groups, today’s pensioners with a migrant background are relatively homogeneous: They originate from fewer countries and hardly any of them were born in Germany,” said El-Mafaalani. Today’s children with a migrant background can be recent immigrants with no knowledge of German or grandchildren of the first generation of immigrants who were born in Germany and feel German. In addition, there is more immigration from ethnically diverse countries such as Syria, whose population follows a number of different religions and speaks many languages.

“That is why children’s day-to-day world also greatly differs even within their migrant families. However, research hardly documents at all what migrant children experience in everyday life,” said El-Mafaalani. That is why education research must look at children in detail and not just categorize them as “with” or “without” a migration background. El-Mafaalani has already conducted corresponding case studies at elementary schools. A project will now explore the question of how this can be examined on a large scale and how teachers can be empowered to teach very diverse classes.

Families are becoming more diverse

El-Mafaalani explained that the overall framework of childhood is also changing – beyond the topic of migration: Family structures are more diverse than in the past, whether patchwork family, rainbow family or other constellation. Digitalization is also already important in childhood, he said. In addition, certain family functions, such as child raising, socialization or care, are increasingly being shifted to (state) institutions, as children spend more and more time under the supervision of others. Among other things, El-Mafaalani wants to investigate whether and how children in institutions can experience participation and self-efficacy, but also emotional warmth.

The sociologist’s research will also focus on demographic tensions. For example, the large “baby boomer” generation is about to retire. Children, on the other hand, are a demographic minority, and parents of minors are a democratic minority. This could lead to conflicts of interest.

About Aladin El-Mafaalani

Professor Aladin El-Mafaalani has been conducting research in the fields of education, integration and racism for many years and has lived in Dortmund for over 20 years. Initially a teacher at a vocational college in Ahlen, he taught political science at FH Münster after completing his doctoral degree in sociology at Ruhr University Bochum. Most recently, he was Professor of Education at Osnabrück University. It was above all the publication of his book “Das Integrationsparadox” (“The Integration Paradox”) in 2018 that brought him into the spotlight. El-Mafaalani was already a guest at TU Dortmund University in December 2022 and gave the keynote lecture at the Academic Anniversary Celebration. In 2023, Germany’s Federal President awarded him the Federal Cross of Merit for his outstanding work and commitment.

Contact for queries:

Professor Aladin El-Mafaalani
Department of Social Sciences, TU Dortmund University
Email: dekanat.fk17tu-dortmundde

 

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